Knit, Branded, Twined and Weathered
by Elizabeth Collins
Summary: Four 250-word drabbles and four themes in the Circle-verse: Birth, Awakenings, New Beginnings, Renewal.
1. Birth

_Birth_

_-Sandry-_

The sun rose weak and yellow, but Sandry smiled all the same. She sat on the roof of Discipline in a simple gown, her poise relaxed. In her gentle fingers she carefully held a spindle, scratched and chipped. Threads in faded colours hummed under her touch, greeting her, reminding her.

Pines pierced her mind: _Briar – rough from experience, tightly bound to them as the vines, fiercely loyal. _The green threads called the scent of fresh soil – the base for growth, for raw, natural beauty. Lightning soon struck the girl, but it filled her with assurance, cold assurance that told of constance. _Tris – she is quick to turn, slow to comfort. Complex and ever-changing._ The blue weaving called the scent of a rain-cloud _–_ the essence of unpredictability, but the bearer of crops and success. A warm feeling then built in the young mage's core. It was not a consuming heat, rather a pleasant continuum._ Daja – she burns with steady endurance, holds many burdens. S__he moves with the sea; she understands unity and how it can be severed. _The formerly red fabric called the scent of wood – life, habitat, what had saved her from the depths of the sea; an ultimate holder of fire.

Sandry closed her eyes; their circle was complete. It was the birth of a family.


	2. New Beginnings

_New Beginnings_

_-Tris-_

Tris wrapped her shawl tighter around herself as she ascended the steps to Lightsbridge. If this was an act of defiance or fear, she wasn't certain. Cynicism broke through her eyes, making them steely, and yet earnestness and anticipation completed the woman's picture of diversity. Her breezes whipped through her braids, and the men in flamboyant robes stopped in their jaunty tracks. Feebly, Tris blamed it on a passing wind and inwardly cursed herself, looking up to the clouds. She had spoken with Niko the night before, trying to remember everything she saw while listening to his concern-laced words. "Trisana," he had said softly, "keep your weathers strong, no matter how much that oppressive place tries to extinguish them." His heavy, long-lashed eyes seemed to know everything, but still she could relate, she knew them as her teacher's. "I will, Niko," she'd answered, stroking Little Bear's fur. "I always will."

Someone pushed past Tris, and she drew back indignantly. Opening her mouth to snap, she took a breath, and stopped herself. I shall have to hide, she thought, and push away my essence. Refuse what I am. She was swallowed by the white building as she walked, her shawl trailing behind her. All she could see was competition and emptiness, all she could hear was spiraling arguments. Trying to mute the sounds, she entered a chamber where a young man sat, regally clearing his throat. "Trisana?" he called. "You have only academic powers?"

"For now," she replied.


	3. Awakenings

_Awakenings_

_-Daja-_

It didn't take Daja long to discover the true lustres in Berenene's court. After all, it was her practice.

When she first entered that intoxicating paradise, her eyelids had been partially closed in amusement, cynicism. But soon her mouth tilted left more often. She listened intently to Rizu and Caidy while they braided and scoffed. She realized the importance of watching people in the thick of it, people who had experience. As they talked of court dynamics, Daja began to notice how the paradise worked.

Rizu's voice was low with a slight lilt, and Daja loved to hear it, the way her voice ebbed and flowed in emphasis. She was lighthearted in social situations, frequently roaring her deep-throated laugh. She'd incline her head with grace, she'd spread her skirts fluidly around her. In the enormity of the court, Daja always seemed to single out those laughs, those fabrics. Slowly, Daja's respect faded to the background and she fell into the love so rarely found at court. First she supposed that her daydreams were borne of sleep deprivation, and shivered them away. Daja did not deny loving another, but she was too shocked at herself to truly acknowledge that she felt those things for a woman.

She came to grips with her feelings eventually, but through watching, thinking, and talking. Understandably, she was slightly unsure of herself, battling the natural doubt the heart forces on one when one faces change. And then when Rizu kissed her, Daja kissed back.


End file.
